Name: karen

Message: another source for Alter Ego Dyes - for Devore scarves -  Dharma is out and they are not sure when their shipment will come - and tis almost the season!!! 

Alter Ego Dyes are made by H. Dupont (not DuPont). They are (or were) imported from France by Atelier de Paris, in Los Angeles. Try calling Atelier de Paris, at (310) 553-6636. Perhaps they can give you the name of another retailer whom they supply. I do not know of any other US sources; Fibrecrafts, in the UK, carries them.

I've never used Alter Ego dyes because they are very expensive for what you get. They apparently include your choice of an acid dye, for silk, and a direct dye to dye the rayon. Reportedly the cellulose dye in Alter Ego does color both silk and rayon, as is typical of direct dyes, while the silk dye does not color the rayon. I wonder whether Dupont has managed to select direct dyes that are relatively less effective on silk, or if they are the same as any direct dyes. Both acid dyes and direct dyes are available from many dye sellers. Because direct dye is not very washfast, a special dye fixative is also required to prevent it from running when washed.

Another interesting option for dyeing the silk and rayon fibers in devoré scarves different colors is to buy a premixed color of fiber reactive dye, such as Procion MX dye. Premixed dye colors, such as black, produce different colors on silk than they do on rayon. For example, the same black mixture might produce black rayon pile on a dark green silk backing. (I have an online list of the pure single-hue unmixed Procion MX dyes; for mixtures, just look for any colors not on the list.)

Alternatively, you can dye the scarves in a lighter color of fiber reactive dye first, which will color both the rayon pile and the silk backing, then, in a separate step, overdye with a darker color of acid dye. Acid dye is not supposed to color the rayon, except perhaps as a temporary stain, so only the silk should fully show the acid dye. (Unfortunately, when I tried this once with Lanaset Jet Black, the rayon was stained badly enough to make the overall effect much more subtle than I wanted, though it was still gorgeous. Will other acid dyes stain the rayon less?)

Holly Brackman's new book, The Surface Designer's Handbook: Dyeing, Printing, Painting, and Creating Resists on Fabric, contains beautiful examples of devoré made from fabric woven of cotton-wrapped polyester. She includes full instructions for a fascinating technique in which the cotton is burned out and the polyester dyed with disperse dyes, in a single step. The remaining cotton is dyed with fiber reactive dyes.


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